[Roy56]

I have a problem with dealing with customers and its so annoying.

I plan my day i.e. route based on houses in that area to clean. Then I have these problems for a few of the customers, can you come next week, gate locked or something happens. My plan for to clean 10 houses in the day and I only managed to clean around 4. These seems to happen all the time and its such as pain.

I been window cleaning for a year now and these problem is causing me to rethink the whole idea.

Anyone have any advice. With managing customers in a way an actually allows you to do them all in one day rather an one Monday, one Tuesday and one Wednesday etc.

I have tried ringing and txting but I still end up with the same problems.

I want to be able to do all customers in the same area/road on the same day, but I can never get this to happen.

Any ideas? Anyone else get this problem?

[8weekly]

Dump the messers. It's the only way and I'm not joking.

[TomCrowther]

They need to be told how you work. If they forget to leave the gate open, clean the front only for your minimum fee. If they don't agree, dump. This type of customer will severely limit your earnings and need to go elsewhere.
It's called a round for a reason. You work your way round the area in a logical way. If you are all over the place every day it is hardly going to help your bottom line.
It's your business.

[SB Cleaning]

All part of building a round you have to sift through the messers it takes time and is demoralising.

[Roy Harding]

Hi you need to train your customers. Tell them you quoted them a price if everyone in the street was done at the same time. But if they would like to have a premium service, and state a particular day, it would be 3 or 4 times your normal rate. As that's the only way they would be viable on that basis.

Roy   

[ascjim]

You need to be hard. If your in the area for one day then make it only that day and tell your customers this.

Keep at it and before you know it you have some good days with good customers and earning good money.

Stick to how YOU want to run your business and dump anyone who wants to change it.

[Ian101]

As already stated its part of starting out in window cleaning.

You have probably picked up all the messers that other windies have sacked off - when you first did them they probably said something along the lines off "the other one just stopped coming".

we've all been there matey and the only way thru is with perseverance.

You must have a policy of doing things just 1 way ..... your way .... when you have lots of customers its so important to keep to your way of doing things otherwise the customers will have you running all over the place

This job is simple ... you canvass / buy work ... you clean ... they pay in a timely fashion ...  any problem customers you bin immediately ... don't hang onto the dross thinking when I have a few more I win bin Mrs Messer ... bin em immediately and go find some proper customers.

[Joey Eastwood]

Everybody about nailed it.  Your the one providing a service never let a customer act like they are doing you a favour by 'letting'  you clean their windows. I had the same problem and got fed up, i started telling customers i do them on the set day and if not, not at all. And with the gate problem if you have texted ahead and its still locked i either jump over depending on customer or charge 25%  extra next clean, they soon get them padlocks off .

[paulben]

I have a couple of customers that have given me a spare key for gate just dump time waster

[AuRavelling79]

But do it selectively so that you don't dump everyone at once. Choose your worst (say) dozen messers and train them. It is likely that only two will be trainable so dump the rest. Now at say £12 a house on a monthly cycle you have in theory dropped  £96 per month from your income.

However they mess you about so you probably are only losing about £60 or £70 per month in real terms.

Oh, and practice the flounce.

[slap bash]

Trade on your terms not on theirs. Sit down and write what you expect from your customers and when ever you get the chance and they step out of line tell them. But be polite and stick to your guns Its your business if you allow them to dictate. You will run yourself ragged and when you have no more business they will drop you.

[NWH]

Say yes I will do them this is how I work,do you still want me to do them for you.If they have you once and say not today tell all the other WCS you know to avoid that house.

[SeanK]

First thing is not to contact customers the night before, just turn up and clean.
Second point, if I had dumped every customer that forgot to unlock a gate then I would have dumped a lot
of good customers, a fold up wide footed ladder will get you over all gates safely. Check out a 4.6m multi position ladder on youtube.
Third point if a customer doesn't want them cleaned every 4 weeks offer them 6 or 8 weeks and then when your round
gets full and you only want 4 weekly customers you can dump them.
I only dumped bad payers until my round was full.
Forth point it will get better there are a lot more good customers/people than messers.

[C o z y]

But do it selectively so that you don't dump everyone at once. Choose your worst (say) dozen messers and train them. It is likely that only two will be trainable so dump the rest. Now at say £12 a house on a monthly cycle you have in theory dropped  £96 per month from your income.

However they mess you about so you probably are only losing about £60 or £70 per month in real terms.

Oh, and practice the flounce.

+1 and don't forget the flounce when dumping. Crucial that.

[Bungle]

Say yes I will do them this is how I work,do you still want me to do them for you.If they have you once and say not today tell all the other WCS you know to avoid that house.

One problem I get is this, I charge top whack for the posher people. How do people get round the 'ooh I'm on holiday in Babados, can you come next time' type poop. Knowing full well that you're fleecing them every time anyway? Do we dump the ones we fleece or go with the flow?

[8weekly]

First thing is not to contact customers the night before, just turn up and clean.

I used to think that was the way forward, but now I think it's a case of when you take a customer on, you make sure that they know what they are signing for. A clean every x weeks. "If you want to think about it, do so and then call me because I only take customers on those terms." Total clarity.

[SeanK]

First thing is not to contact customers the night before, just turn up and clean.

I used to think that was the way forward, but now I think it's a case of when you take a customer on, you make sure that they know what they are signing for. A clean every x weeks. "If you want to think about it, do so and then call me because I only take customers on those terms." Total clarity.

I think you are misreading what I mean, I'm not talking about before you have sorted and agreed terms I'm talking about
repeat cleans.
If you have agreed to clean a property every four weeks then you turn up every four weeks and clean it, there's no need to
contact the customer the night before hoping to get permission to clean it.

[8weekly]

First thing is not to contact customers the night before, just turn up and clean.

I used to think that was the way forward, but now I think it's a case of when you take a customer on, you make sure that they know what they are signing for. A clean every x weeks. "If you want to think about it, do so and then call me because I only take customers on those terms." Total clarity.

I think you are misreading what I mean, I'm not talking about before you have sorted and agreed terms I'm talking about
repeat cleans.
If you have agreed to clean a property every four weeks then you turn up every four weeks and clean it, there's no need to
contact the customer the night before hoping to get permission to clean it.

About a year ago I bought a ladder just to hop gates because I was fed up with texting but it's just too much hassle. I don't want to hop gates. Around half of my customers have locked gates. I text them to unlock them. I suspect most wcs have lots of customers with locked gates. What's your solution? Don't take them on?

[colin bird]

First thing is not to contact customers the night before, just turn up and clean.

I used to think that was the way forward, but now I think it's a case of when you take a customer on, you make sure that they know what they are signing for. A clean every x weeks. "If you want to think about it, do so and then call me because I only take customers on those terms." Total clarity.

I think you are misreading what I mean, I'm not talking about before you have sorted and agreed terms I'm talking about
repeat cleans.
If you have agreed to clean a property every four weeks then you turn up every four weeks and clean it, there's no need to
contact the customer the night before hoping to get permission to clean it.

About a year ago I bought a ladder just to hop gates because I was fed up with texting but it's just too much hassle. I don't want to hop gates. Around half of my customers have locked gates. I text them to unlock them. I suspect most wcs have lots of customers with locked gates. What's your solution? Don't take them on?

q

I agree 100% with you!I've noticed recently that gates that didn't used to be locked are now locked!I think it's a sign of the times!and people being more security conscious. I'm texting more customers than before,most open gates some don't.
If gate is locked I charge over half for front,and then leave a note requesting gate to be unlocked as it is not viable for me to clean front only,if gate is locked next time I just add £1 then same again next time,by this time you know you have a messer,and I look to dump them,or clean front only for a good price

[Spruce]

At a guess i would say that 20 - 25% of our customers have bolted gates which are easy to unbolt although it takes a little time.

I know of a cleaner who decided to dump every customer he couldn't get straight access to the rears of as it took too long messing around unbolting the gate - time = money lost.

For the occassional padlocked gate I also use an A frame ladder with a high apex and straddle the gate. Yes, it takes time and effort, but I probably only get it out 3 or 4 times a month for that.